As January is slow cooker month, we’re sharing some tasty slow cooker recipes which were created for FareShare Greater Manchester by the Manchester United Foundation’s chefs. Slow cookers are a great way to produce low-cost tasty meals using left overs and are very cheap to run.
This week’s recipe will also come in handy for anyone participating in Veganuary!
Cauliflower & Chickpea Curry with Cauliflower Bhajis
Serves 4 portions
Cooking time: 4-4 ½ hours on a high heat
A small amount of frying is required for this dish before it goes into the slow cooker.
Ingredients for the curry:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 2 large carrots (diced)
- 1 large potato (chopped)
- 1 large cauliflower (washed and cut into medium florets, save the stalk and leaves)
- 2 tbsp of curry powder (hot)
- 1 fresh chilli (thinly sliced)
- Small bunch of coriander (roughly chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 inch fresh ginger (peeled & minced) alternatively you could use 1 level tsp of ground ginger
- 1 tin coconut milk (400ml)
- 400ml water
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 tin chickpeas (400g drained)
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of white pepper
Method:
- Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan on a medium heat.
- Fry the cauliflower florets until light, golden brown in colour. Remove from the heat and place in the slow cooker.
- Heat the remaining oil and fry the diced onion, carrot & potato for 1 minute. Add the garlic, chilli and curry powder and cook for a further 1 – 2 minutes. This will start to fill your kitchen with a lovely fragrance!
- Transfer the contents of the frying pan into the slow cooker and add the coconut milk and chickpeas along with the stock cube and water. Mix well and cook on a high heat for 4.5 hours.
- Once the time has passed, stir well and taste. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to season if required. Sprinkle in the chopped coriander.
- Serve with boiled or microwave rice and naan/flatbread.
Bhajis (made from the cauliflower trimmings) 
Ingredients:
- Cauliflower trimmings
- 1 small onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 tbsp gram flour
- 1 tsp curry powder
- A splash of water (just enough to bring it all together – sticky, not wet)
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
- Vegetable oil for frying
Method:
- Mix all the dry ingredients together and add just enough water to bind it all together to form a sticky batter mix.
- Shallow fry in the frying pan for 2-3 minutes on each side until crispy.
This recipe contains ALLERGENS. Please check all ingredients lists carefully if you need to avoid allergens in your food, including all food labels.
